Carlos Vela made his return to the starting lineup and added an assist as Diego Rossi got a brace in Los Angeles FC's 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids at Banc of California Stadium.
The last time these two sides met was in October 2019 when Vela scored a hat trick for a 3-1 LAFC win over the Rapids. After playing just 20 minutes last week against the Seattle Sounders, Vela put in a 59-minute shift Saturday night.
For the Rapids, centerback Lalas Abubakar made his first appearance in 2021 and head coach Robin Fraser changed the defense to a three-man backline. But LAFC's Rossi got in behind, caught men out of position, and slotted one past Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough to open scoring early in the first half. Rossi added his second on the night nearly 20 minutes later, blasting it near post after Vela fed the ball to him out wide.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Diego Rubio sent a ball over the back line to Colorado winger Michael Barrios, who slid it past LA goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega to put the visiting side on the board and get his first goal in burgundy.
LAFC were able to hold off the Rapids for the remaining 40 minutes plus stoppage time to get their first win since beating Austin FC on the opening weekend of the season more than a month ago.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: With a win tonight, LAFC hope to gain some momentum and pull themselves out of the Western Conference basement and back into playoff contention. Carlos Vela started and played 59 minutes, adding an assist, which bodes well for the LA side. The loss snaps the Rapids’ three-game winning streak and sends them home without any points, but they'll look to get back on track before the international break with a home match next weekend against FC Dallas.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Diego Rossi’s first goal in the 15th minute set the tone for the first half and eventually led to an LAFC win.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Diego Rossi scored two goals to give LAFC a much-needed first win since Week 1.
Next Up
- LAFC: Saturday, May 29 vs. New York City FC (5 pm ET | Unimás, TUDN, Twitter for English audio)
- COL: Saturday, May 29 vs. FC Dallas (9 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
